Tokyo Mew Mew: The Changed
by Dawnstep
Summary: Set two years after the events of Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode. A certain green-haired alien shows up to warn Shirogane that aliens are coming to destroy every human on Earth, then offers to bring back Pai, Tart, and five others to help fight. KxOC, RxP, PxT.
1. Prologue

--Prologue—

The oil lamp flared to life, lighting up the face of the holder. He was tall, with long, pointed ears, and he wore a dark robe; more than that could not be discerned in the near-blackness of this room.

He waited for a moment, then waited, and waited some more. He took a step forward and clapped his hands briskly. No response came from the pitch-black room, so, frowning, he strode over to something which, despite the blackness, was clearly _there, _had a clear presence. As he- and the lamp- drew closer, it showed itself to be a wooden tray with two narrower, shallower trays extending out from it, apparently infinitely, into the dark room, sticking out on either side. Drawing a long, thin wooden stick from his robe, he opened the little door on the side of his lamp and lit the stick, which he then pressed into the center of the box.

The room flared to life, fire spreading along the shallow trays into the other three boxes in the other three corners of the room. When the entire system was crackling warmly, he turned around. His large brown eyes widened and whitened and he gave a wordless, chocking cry of shock. He whirled and sprinted out. In his wake he left hundreds of broken jars of a glass-like material, with a faint yellow-tinted glow. In the middle of the wreckage was a sign with strange, lingual-looking marks, and at the bottom of the sign was an image of a round, blue planet.


	2. Chapter 1: We Are

Dawnstep: Hello there! I apologize most profusely for leaving you with a mysterious prologue for so long x.x''

Kisshu: -cough- Thisisn'twhywe' -cough-

Dawnstep: Yeah, but I have to apologize. You've gotta admit, that prologue was pretty cryptic.

Kisshu: Well, yeah, but I've got some great dialogue in here! I get to explain about the— *death stare from Dawneh* Er, I mean, I get to see Koneko-chan again!!

Ichigo: -suddenly summoned to the beginning note- EH?!?!

Kisshu: -glomps- KONEKO-CHAN!!!

-Kisshu and Ichigo break into scuffling fight-

Dawnstep: ^.^'' Well, I guess if Kisshu's to preoccupied to do the disclaimer… and "she" and "her" can't do it yet as you all haven't met them yet… OI! CHIBI!!

Tart: -poofs in- WATCH WHO YOU'RE CALLIN' CHIBI!!!

Dawnstep: Just do the disclaimer, runt!

Tart: -huffs- Fine. Dawnstep does not own Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power, Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode, or any of the characters, settings, or plot elements from those works. (Or the song, We Are, by Ana Johnsson.)

Dawnstep: …and…

Tart: -eyeroll- And, if she did Masaya would have been made to jump of the Cliff of Boring long, long ago.

Ichigo: WHAT?!?!

Dawnstep: Shut it, 'Chige. (pronounced: cheege.)

Ichigo: DON'T CALL ME THAT!!

Dawnstep: -runs in fear-

Er, but! Now, please enjoy Chapter One- We Are, without further ado.

"You keep watching from your picket fence,

You keep talking but it makes no sense,

You say we're not responsible, but we are, we are,

We are."

Ryou Shirogane was bent over a desk in his lab. He scribbled madly on a piece of paper, then leaned over further to type something in on the huge, glowing machine.

There was a gentle tap on the door. "Come in," Ryou murmured, still tapping erratically on the keyboard, which was a behemoth, about three times normal size, with keys with odd symbols on them that were probably only recognizable to Ryou. A young girl in a maid-like outfit, about 15, stuck her head through the door. "Ryou?" she said, her brown eyes shining. "We're almost ready to close." He grunted at her in lieu of a response. Rolling her eyes, she stepped back, out of the room, and her retreating footsteps could be heard pitter-pattering back up to the cheery café above.

A few minutes passing, Ryou still tapping quickly away, and then the knock came again. "What _is _it, Ichigo?" he asked, irritated. "Can you not tell I'm _working, _here?"But this time, it was a tall man whose dark brown hair was pulled back into a long, thin ponytail who entered, his face tense. "Keiichiro," Ryou sighed, his voice tired. "Sorry, I thought you were-"

"I noticed." Keiichiro cut him off, his tone a bit snappish. There was a tense silence for a few moments, before Keiichiro slowly spoke, his voice reserved and nervous. "Sorry. It's just… we, er, have a visitor."

As Ryou looked up curiously to see who could possibly be making Keiichiro so antsy, he gasped wildly, his question answered in the space of a moment. Another had stepped through the door, more like a man now, less of a boy, than when Ryou had last seen him. He was death pale, with forest green hair that now hung nearly to his shoulders, though still tied in exactly the same ponytails, red leather strips binding them just in front of his long, pointed, elf-like ears. His yellow-amber eyes, usually glittering with mirth, or else wide with madness, were tense, pale, dull, and dark, and his face, usually laughing, now matched- tense and somber, maybe even a bit ashamed. Even though he'd matured, he was still a boy, much closer to the age of Ichigo than to that of Ryou and Keiichiro, and yet he obviously still had that odd air of _authority. _In all these years, Ryou had never been able to place it. His clothes, too, seemed exactly the same, though off course larger, to accommodate his growth- but yes, that was the layered shirt, exposing most of his belly, and the shorts, and the boots.

"Kisshu-san," Ryou said, leaning back, startled, in his chair. "This is a... um... surprise." Kisshu approached Ryou's desk, bowing. "Shirogane-san," he replied. "I've come to warn you. Every human on the Earth will soon be in grave danger."

Ryou gasped again, shock the only emotion on his face for several long moments. Then, he lowered his head, thinking wildly, and murmured, "Keiichiro. Go get the girls, please." Keiichiro, nodding, swiftly turned to jog out of the room, leaving the remaining pair in an ominous silence. His footsteps retreated swiftly, then there was the creak of a door opening, then the door slammed, and seven sets of feet came bouncing happily down the hall- that is, six, along with Keiichiro's somber gait. There was also a lively chatter, which ceased immediately as Keiichiro reentered the room, now followed by six youngish girls. Five of the girls wore expressions of pure shock, but one was gazing in confusion from Kisshu to her slightly alarmed counterparts. Ryou glanced at her, then at Kisshu, who mirrored her puzzled gaze, then said, "Er, yes, an explanation is in order… Berry-chan, this is Kisshu-san. Kisshu-san, this is Berry Shirayuki-chan. That is, she's Mew Berry… the, er, sixth Mew Mew."

Kisshu continued to gaze at her for a moment, then shook his head slightly, as if to clear it, saying in a hollow voice, "That's good. A good sign- more Mews. More protection. Yes."

Looking even more confused than before, Ryou cleared his throat, than inquired, "Um, yes. Would you explain what you mean by that, exactly?"

"It's as I said before- I came here to warn you," he said, voice still empty. "It's… it's… the servant aliens. The ones used to create the Chimera Anima. The Daa'ken—that's our name for them."

He took one long, shuddering breath, then continued, his head down.

"They… we were testing them, trying to find a way to exterminate them- kill them all at once. Like a super-Masha, really," he said, the ghost of a smile gracing his lips as he glanced quickly up at the little pink puffball who was currently floating just above Ichigo's right shoulder. He gave a little start of surprise when a second one- which looked like a flying strawberry - popped up from behind Berry.

"W-well," he continued, "we were studying them, but what we didn't realize was that they'd grown intelligent- frightfully so. They were a tenfold more intelligent than we'd realized. They could even manage to fool as for nearly a year! Arrrgh, it's all my fault!" he cried, burying his head in his hands. "I was the one who ordered them exterminated."

Ryou, looking a bit awkward, stood up and patted Kisshu's shoulder. "Er- I'm sure you were just trying to do the right thing," he said,.

Kisshu raised his head. "That doesn't change the fact that they… they… they're… They're coming! To kill all the humans on the Earth. That… that desire was… bred into them," he said, voice black as he sighed. "Also my fault."

Suddenly, the expression on his face changed completely. He went from dismayed and anguished to alert, grim and focused in a split second. "And…" he said, his voice now taught and determined. "I got you into this mess. So I_ will_ get you out."

"I can bring five of our finest warriors, plus Pai, Taruto and myself. So, eight, plus the six of you," he said, gesturing at the Mews. "That's fourteen…" Ryou cleared his throat. "I think… If the situation is as dire as you say…"

Kisshu nodded. "It is."

Now it was Ryou's turn to nod. "Then it may be time for Mew Mew number seven. And…" he said, a slow smile spreading across his face, "I have just the animal in mind. But the DNA will be very hard to acquire… yes, I'll _really _have to pull some strings for this one… Yes, yes…"

He lapsed into murmuring to himself, occasional words and phrases such as "Mongolia", "must rush the shipment", and "…hair? Maybe" being able to be picked out of the jumble. Kisshu stared at him for a second, then, shaking his head, turned to Keiichiro. "Well, if that's decided, I'll return home and start preparations. I've already alerted my warriors to be ready at a moment's notice, but it will still take a bit of time. Maybe… three days?"

Keiichiro inclined his head. "Well, we'll try to have the new Mew ready by then." Kisshu nodded, closed his eyes in concentration for a moment, then disappeared.

As soon as he had gone, Pudding leapt forward. "Akasaka-san!" she cried. "Are they really coming?" Keiichiro grimly said, "Yes, Pudding-chan, and it is very, very good for Kisshu to be doing what he is- warning us, putting his life and his friends' lives on the line for us. We must be grateful."

The young girl nodded solemnly, but then it was Berry who spoke up. "Um, who _was_ he, exactly?"

Ichigo stepped forward, saying, "Please, I'll explain. Er, Berry… he was the leader of the attacking aliens, from before you joined the team. Four years ago, do you remember when we explained it to you?" Berry nodded. "Oh, yeah, I get it now. Thanks, Ichigo-chan!" But then she hesitated. "But, there was one more thing…"

Ichigo gazed at her levelly. "Wait, Berry-chan," she said. "I think I know what you want to ask, and… later."

Nodding, a bit sullenly, one might add, Berry leaned back against the wall, obviously mulling over Ichigo's strange words. Ryou suddenly snapped his head up , and, as they all stared at him, he stood, saying, "Girls, I need to make some private communications with an old colleague of my father's… so if you'll excuse me- good night."

They all nodded, and as they filed out of the room, Ryou sat back down at his computer and began typing quickly, opening an e-mail program and beginning to tap out a message to a doctor in Washington, D.C., America, at the National Zoo.

****

As the Mew Team re-entered Café Mew Mew, Berry turned on Ichigo and said, "Well? Why the heck was he looking at you all funny, and smiling at you, and all that crap?"

Mint, taking a look at Ichigo's suddenly tense, sad face, angrily opened her mouth to reprimand Berry, but Ichigo laid a hand on her friend's arm. "No, it's okay, Minto, she has a right to know, I suppose," she said, her tone mirroring her expression. As Mint slowly backed off, Ichigo looked Berry straight in the eyes and said, "Kisshu was- and maybe still is, I haven't a clue- in love with me."

Ignoring the blonde's gasp of surprise, she continued, "But I never loved him… all I ever wanted was to defeat him. All I ever did was hurt him. …Did I make him like that?" she added, almost to herself, murmuring softly. "Why doesn't he laugh anymore? Why is his face so stiff? It looked odd, when he smiled, like he hadn't done it in ages…"

They all stared at the pink mew for a second, and then Berry said softly, "But, Ichigo-chan. He obviously has forgiven you- you don't do that for someone you hate. What he's doing for us, that is," she clarified. "And, he must also be a good person. So I'm sure he's alright."

Ichigo stared at her for a moment, then took a shuddering step forward and hugged her tightly, muttering "Thank you" as she did so. Berry smiled softly and returned the hug. After a moment, Ichigo whipped back around, grinning from ear to ear, and cried, "Oh! Pudding! I just thought of something!" She grinned at the youngest Mew Mew. "You must be happy- Tart's coming back!"

They all laughed, Mint explaining to Berry, "Pudding's in loooove with Taru-Taru!!"

"Am not!" said the girl, a rare blush flashing across her cheeks.

Ichigio grinned. "Really, Pudding?_ Seriousl_y?"

Pudding considered. "Well, maybe just a li-"

"Oooh!" all the girls chorused, giggling merrily. Pudding blushed again, and, laughing, they all parted ways and headed home, wide grins still on every face.

"_What about the world today?_

_What about the place that we call home?_

_We've never been so many, but we've never been…_

_So alone."_

-We Are, by Ana Johnsson

Dawnstep: Whew! That was sure long! –wordcheck- 1,788, not including song lyrics, closing and beginning notes, and other such stuff. Aiee .

Kisshu: I don't think it was to long! And I got to see-

Ichigio: -eyes of death-

Kisshu: I mean, um, I got to see… uh… I got to see Ryou talk to himself like a maniac?

Ichigo: -slowly stops looking at him with Eyes of Death-

Dawnstep: ^.^'' Er, well! But what did you guys think about the length? Also, was everybody IC? Anybody OC? Please, please, please review! It really makes my day. :D

Kisshu: -whispers- Yeah, because she's such a dork that she really, really likes it when people actually read her stuff.

Dawnstep: -tries to glare at Kisshu, but fails- You know, if I wasn't madly in love with you, I'd have to hurt you right now.

Kisshu: I know. ;D

Next chapter coming soon! Please review! Constructive crit is appreciated! –hands out cyberwaffles-


	3. Ch 2: The First Day of a Brand New Start

Dawnstep: Hey there, everyone! Sorry again for long wait in the updating… n.n BUT! Guess who comes in this chappie~ ^.^

As-Yet-Unknown-Protagonist: Hey there! :D

Dawnstep: Would you mind doing the disclaimer, dear?

A-Y-U-P: Not at all, Akatsuki-chan! Dawnstep does not own Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power, or any of its characters, plot elements, settings, etc. etc. She does, however, own me.

Dawnstep: Here we gooo~!

The First Day of a Brand New Start, Part I

_-Three Days Later-_

Ryou watched carefully as the girl and her friends were about to leave the café. Just as they neared the door, he meticulously finished straightening the sign and took one step back. Turning neatly on his heel, he surveyed the scene which was, he thought, satisfied, just as he'd planned it to be. The raven-haired girl was nudging the tall redhead beside her, whispering into her friend's ear and pointing at the sign. Its perfect red lettering read "Help Wanted-- Part Time" in tall, commanding script.

The black-haired girl said now, a bit louder, "Hazel, look! Isn't that just the luckiest thing?!"

She gasped. The other two girls turned around and their heads whipped back and forth in a comical manner between looking at Hazel and staring at the sign.

"Go for it, Hazel!" one of them said eagerly.

She nodded slowly, her nut-brown eyes glimmering. "Yeah… _yeah_! Guys, go home without me, 'kay?"

"Sure! See you tomorrow, Hazel-chan!"

"Later, Hazel!"

"See you at school!"

Ryou watched as she cautiously drew nearer. When she'd reached him, she bowed and said, voice quivering, "Err… excuse me, mister…?"

He bowed, smiling. "Ryou Shirogane. And you are?" _Like I don't know. _

"H-Hazel Kiran, sir!" she said, blushing furiously and bowing. "I… um, I… couldn't help but notice your sign, and I'm sort of… looking for a part time job right now, so… er…"

_Perfect. _"Certainly. Would you come with me, please?"

"So," he said as he led her towards the kitchens. "Why are you looking for a job? You look a bit young."

She nodded. "I'm fifteen. I- er… well, it's really a bit early, but I'm saving for college. I'd like to go in America! But, that being oversees and all, and money being a bit tight at home already…" She trailed off, seeming to realize what she was saying. "Oh dear! I'm sorry, if I blab like that you can always tell me… Was I boring you?!" She seemed mortified.

Ryou laughed softly and shook his head. "Not at all, not at all," he said, thinking approvingly, _She may be a bit of a chatterbox, but she's polite, and brave enough to tell a complete stranger she's a bit poor. Interesting. Maybe she's even better than we thought!_

As he swung open the door to the kitchen, he yelled, "OI! Keiichiro! I think we've got one!"

Up from behind a gigantic cake popped Keiichiro's head. "Oh?" he said, smiling gently. "And who might this be?"

Ryou nodded back at the wide-eyed girl, who still seemed unable to take in anything except the size of the cake. "This is Hazel Kiran-san," he said, and she snapped to attention. "Hazel, this is Keiichiro Akasaka, my partner and our pastry chef." Keiichiro bowed, still smiling. "Pleasure to meet you." Hazel hastily bowed as well, her face pink. "A-and same to you!" she said, her voice sweet.

"So, you're interested in a part-time job here?" Keiichiro queried, wiping the flour from his hands with a wet rag.

Her russet-colored head bobbed quickly. "Yes, sir. Very much so. I really love this place- my friends and I come here every day!"

"And your parents know?" Ryou checked.

"They… yes, well, they said I could have whichever job I wanted, so long as I'm home for dinner!" she said, rubbing her head, embarrassed.

"Good enough for me!" Ryou said, shrugging. "Come on, I'll take you on a tour."

As soon as they were out of the room, Keiichiro turned to the stack of dishes to his right. "Well? What did you think, girls?"

Up popped the Mew Mews, who started talking all at once.

"She seemed brave!" said Ichigo approvingly.

"She was sweet!" exclaimed Pudding. "Na No Da!" she added as an afterthought.

"She was so _nice_!"whispered Lettuce admiringly.

"Yes, she was polite," agreed Zakuro.

"I feel sorry for her, having to _save_ for college," said Mint.

"She was great!" finished Berry happily.

"I'll take that as a yes!" said Keiichiro, laughing. "I have to agree, she seemed even better in person!"

"Mew Hazel," mused Ichigo. "Yes, I think it'll work!"

Keiichiro smiled, then sighed. "Speaking of work… I suppose that's what we'd better get back to. Lettuce, table seven said…"

*****

Meanwhile, Ryou was leading Hazel through a labyrinth of rooms below the café. _Who would have thought there was so much down here? _She marveled as Ryou named each door they passed. "Storeroom A… B… C… freezer…"

But she wasn't listening anymore. Why was it down here? She'd caught the glint of gold in her peripheral vision, and, naturally, turned to see what it was. The large golden cat stared back at her, its sapphire eyes glinting in the light of on small bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"Shirogane-san?" she called, mesmerized. "What is…?" Her finger hovered, as though of its own accord, a millimeter away from the statue's nose.

Ryou spun around and, seeing her, his eyes widened, and he yelled "Hazel-san!! Don't touch-!!"

Too late. Her finger gently tapped the cat's nose, and a blinding flash of light coursed through the room for a moment, and then it was gone and Hazel tumbled to the ground, unconscious. He raced over, checked her pulse just to make sure nothing was wrong, and, satisfied that all was well, picked her limp body up, muttering, "Well, that wasn't _quite _what I was going for, but it'll have to do," strode upstairs.

*****

_All was dark. She was sure she was dreaming, for all around her swirled stars and galaxies and nebulas, some unheard music guiding their celestial dance. She was warm and content, and so she drifted. For a while she drifted…_

_But then, in the distance, appeared a blowing red-brown light. It grew, and grew, until it identified itself as some sort of four legged creature with a longish neck and a swishing tail. In a few moments more, it proved to be a horse. It walked nearer, slow and deliberate, then silently stopped when it was a few feet away from her. It gazed at Hazel. She gazed back._

_After a few moments of this, however, it took three more steps forward, and stopped. Then, gently, carefully, it lowered its head, touching its soft muzzle to a spot just above her left eye. This spot grew warm, and the glow faded from the horse, so that it could no longer be seen, and moved to that area of her forehead._

_And she understood that the horse was within her now… _

*****

Slowly, Hazel began to surface. As she woke she heard a gentle hum of noise; fuzzy voices that washed over her calmly as she slept.

Wait… slept?!

_Crap! _Crap!_ I fell asleep?! _On my first day?! _THIS. IS. NOT. GOOD. OH CRAP!_

She sat up abruptly. "Hey! Shirogane! She's awake!"

The crimson-haired girl looked back at her, friendliness glittering in her chocolate eyes. A pink maid dress immediately identified her as one of the café's waitresses. "Had a nice rest?" she said, voice warm and understanding. "I would be willing to bet money you just had the _strangest_ dream."

_How on Earth does she know…?_

But every thought was driven abruptly from her head as her blonde boss rounded the corner.

"I am SO sor-"

Ryou smiled and pressed a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. "It's okay. I think Ichigo here and I know almost exactly what you just went through."

"Um, what?" She was completely mystified.

He smirked. "You've heard of the Mew Mews, right?" At her nod, he continued, "Well, welcome to the team."

Seeing Hazel's still completely confused face, Ichigo shouted after him as he left the room, "Um, Shirogane? You could've explained that a bit better!"

Turning back to Hazel, she bit her lip, murmuring, "Jeez, there's just not an easy way to say this. Uh, Hazel? You're now a… Mew Mew."

Steamrolling right on past Hazel's shocked gasp, she continued her explanation "See, Ryou and Keiichiro made us- the Mew Mews- by taking the DNA of an endangered species and splicing that with our DNA, so we can transform and fight and stuff like that. There's six of us, plus you. Ichigo, that's me, DNA of the Iriomote Wild Cat, Mint, the Blue Lorikeet, Lettuce, the Finless Porpoise, Pudding, the Golden Lion Tamar-"

"HIYA!!"

An orange ball of hyper-ness had collided with her side, and was now hugging her tightly. "Hiya, hi! I'm Pudding na no da! How're you doing onee-chan?!"

Ichigo laughed and rolled her eyes. "Like I was saying, Pudding- Golden Lion Tamarin, which is a monkey. Then there's Zakuro, with the genes of the Gray Wolf, and Berry, with both the Andean Wild Cat and the Amami Rabbit. And now, there's you- Mew Hazel, containing the genes of the Prezwalski's Wild Horse."

There was a moment of silence as Hazel processed this onslaught of information, then she delightedly clapped her hands, squealing "OMIGOSH! I love horses!!!"

Ichigo and Pudding laughed along, but they were interrupted by a giggle.

…from a _box._

Ichigo rolled her eyes, then giggled, calling, "You guys didn't have to hide, you know."

Out from behind the box came four girls: a girl with a haughty, pale face with twin dark blue buns, who was glaring at a blushing girl with a green plait down her back and glasses- the source of the giggle, Hazel surmised- and a tall, purple-haired figure with the body of an angel, a bored expression on her lovely face, and finally a grinning blonde with sparkling blue eyes. Respectively, they wore blue, green, purple, and yellow-white dresses.

"Hiya!" said the blonde, bouncing forward. "I'm Berry Shirayuki. Nice to meet you!"

Hazel smiled politely while Ichigo added, "Yes, and these are Mint Aizawa-" the blue-dress girl-"Lettuce Midorkawa-" _funny name_, thought Hazel- "and Zakuro Fujiwara." Hazel smiled and bowed to each of them, which seemed to do something to endear her towards Mint, who still looked haughty and cold.

"And I'm Ichigo Momomiya," she continued, "leader of the Mew Me-"

There came a dry, questioning cough from Berry.

"Oh, fine," snapped Ichigo, pretending to be cross, "_co-_leader with this thing!" She proceeded to poke Berry, who poked back, sending the pair into a giggling, poking fit.

Hazel watched for a few moments, chuckling, then saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her whip her head around quickly. _Ryou! _

He caught her eye, winked, then called out, "Having fun, girls?"

Ichigo froze with her finger an inch from Berry's forehead, Berry in mid-giggle. They both turned bright red, then slowly turned around to face Ryou, standing at attention. He smiled quickly, then said, "They're almost here, I just got a message to inform me they'll be arriving in five minutes. Why don't we all go down to the computer room and Ichigo can fill Hazel in on the way?"

They all filed out, with Ichigo and Hazel bringing up the rear. "Um," said Hazel. Ichigo smiled quickly at her, then groaned, saying, "I only have five minutes?!? Um, this'll be the abridged version." And so she broke into the story of the aliens, the war, and the new threat. As she listened to the cat-girl's explanation, all she could think was: _I'm about to meet aliens?!_

As Ichigo finished up, they entered Ryou's computer room, and lined up against one wall, forming a neat row.

"Okay, I think I get this, but let me check," said Hazel, bemused. "All that crazy trouble three years ago was from aliens?"

"Right!" replied Ichigo.

"And now they're coming back to _help _us?"

"Right."

"And I'm about to meet the three who were attacking us, plus five more they've brought along to help?"

"Right again," Ichigo said, smiling.

"Oookay. …That's a lot to take in," muttered the bemused horse-girl.

Ichigo laughed, then suddenly tensed and stared at the middle of the room.

In eight spots at the direct center of the lab, the air seemed to be warping. Hazel's heart stopped beating for a second as she watched dim outlines appear in each spot, of all different sizes.

Then they were _there, _and she didn't know what to think. The only things they seemed to have in common were the lean physique, pale skin, and long, pointed ears. And the wacky hair colors- some of them, anyway.

One caught her eye, and then everything else faded away. The eyes- they were molten amber, shimmering and deep, light and dark, elated and grieving all at once. They perfectly offset the forest-green hair, tied in two longish pigtails just in front of the ears. He was beautiful. So… _beautiful._

He stepped forward, his eyes on Ryou, his voice calm. "Shirogane-san," he said gravely. "We're back."

* * *

Dawnstep: -shoves charries out of room- AND STAY OUT!!! I NEED TO TALK TO THE READERS!!

Characters: -grumblemutter-

Door: SLAM!!

Dawnstep: Sorry about that. But they wouldn't like what I'm gonna say, haha. Er! Anyway, I snuck some fluff in there at the end lol. Ah, y'all knew it was coming xD And, over 2,000 words aiee . crazy long chapter much? –whacks self- Oh well, we all have our flaws right? Anyway, how'd you guys like Hazel? :D She's… well, we're pretty alike. It makes it easier to write her. –shrug-

Kisshu: I JUST HEARD MY NAME!  
Hazel: Me, too!

Ichigo: …wait, I just thought of something. Kisshu, why don't you just teleport in there?

Kisshu: -headdesk- and I didn't think of that… why?

Dawnstep: TOO LATE! :D –opens door-

Anyways, but yes. What'dya think? Oh, and I keep meaning to get around to this, but forgetting: the rating. This Fic Rated T by the NFFRAD (National Fan Fiction Rating Association of Dawnstep) for: violence, romance (no lemons or anything of the sort though!), mild language, and most of all: fear of under-rating. xP

Also- a humongous thank-you to the wonderful Fireflies Glow, who has agreed to beta this story. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

And, one last thing… the bit about Ichigo being "co-leader" with Berry? I thought that's how it was, but Fireflies Glow thought Ichigo was the sole leader once she came back, so I checked the manga… but I was rushing and skimming a scan so if it really is Ichigo alone, I apologize. I've only read the manga a couple of times since I have to do it online as I haven't been able to buy them… I mostly watch the anime, and since there isn't an a la Mode anime… -shrug-

Next Up: The First Day of a Brand New Start, Part II!


	4. Ch 3: The First Day of a Brand New Start

Hello all! ^.^ This is my new AN style.

Kisshu: Because she's weird like that.

Dawnstep: -whacks- SHUDDUP! D:

A-anyway! Updates, updates, yayyyy!

All right, without further ado- The First Day of a Brand New Start, Part II!

Kisshu stepped forward, his heart pounding. His voice was calm, betraying none of the emotions boiling right below the surface.

_Who is she? _he thought, his heart pounding. _Mustn't look at her, mustn't stare… must look at Ryou._

"I see you've got your new Mew Mew, Shirogane-san," he said, his voice even. His heart was still thumping loudly, and he knew his companions could hear it.

But he couldn't help it; there was something there. This reaction was nearly on the same level of his reaction to Koneko-chan. The shimmering brown eyes, wide with wonder, the light amber-red hair, shoulder-length and straight, and the amazed flush in her cheeks…

She was staring at him.

All this thinking went on inside of ten seconds as Ryou replied, "Indeed, Kisshu-san," and the room was silent for a moment.

"Well," he said smoothly after a few seconds. "I suppose I'd better let my comrades introduce themselves." Prodding Kishata in the back to go first, he stepped backwards.

Rolling her eyes at him, she stepped forward and gave their people's traditional gesture of greeting, crossing her right arm over her chest so that her wrist was over heart and bowing. "Hello and well met. I am Kishata, Kisshu's _maneta_."

Seeing the humans' confused expressions, Kisshu clarified, "She's my cousin."

Blushing, she stepped back, and another, smaller girl stepped forward to fill her empty spot. Bowing, she flashed her dimples and said in her high, sweet voice, "Hiya! Well met, I'm Mira. And this is my _manta- _er, brother," she corrected hastily, "Blane."

Blane poked her and said, "I can introduce myself, twerp." Grinning and bowing at the humans, he added, "Well met, I'm Blane." Then they stepped back as one, looking no less than twins- though Mira was seven years younger, at ten, and three inches shorter, their pin-straight blond hair, fair skin, and sparkling green eyes were identical.

At this point, Ichigo leaned over to the newest member of her team and spoke quickly into her ear, pointing at Kisshu, Pai, and Taruto in turn. _She's giving her backgrounds on us,_ Kisshu realized. _Koneko-chan is so thoughtful._He returned his attention to his comrades, which caused him to realize he'd been staring.

_Ack! No, no, no! I've got to act _normal. _As in, no staring! C'mon, Kisshu, snap out of it. Just because she's a pretty girl doesn't mean you can stare at her when you should be concentrating on the diplomatic meeting! _

He was drawn back to the real world by another of his companions stepping forward and bowing. "Greetings and well met. I am Noxar," he said, his long black bangs falling over his storm-gray eyes. He hesitated, but then added, "…and I owe you all a most sincere apology. I was the one in charge of the daa'ken, so it's my fault we didn't know of their escape until they were already gone. I hope you will forgive me."

As he stepped back, Pai reached over to pat his shoulder. Kisshu heard him whisper, "Not your fault, friend," but then he was distracted by the last of their number stepping up.

"Well met," he said with a smile, bowing so low that his medium-length brown hair nearly brushed his knees. "My name is Gure." And then he actually _winked, _aiming this gesture, it seemed, at the blond Mew. Her name was Berry, wasn't it? Kisshu rolled his eyes, though it did strike him that this was a bit hypocritical of him… after all, wasn't _he_ the one who dropped from the top of a building to land a kiss on the lips of a certain red-haired neko-girl? He grinned a bit, remembering the scene, but then snapped back to reality as Gure finished his introduction.

After Gure stepped back to rejoin the group, there was a long, slightly awkward silence. Finally, though, Kisshu grinned and said, "Okay, then. Well, we have a full background on you lot, obviously, so… Oh, wait a minute. What about miss…" He trailed off, gesturing at the amber-haired girl, who blushed as their gazes locked for an instant.

"Oh, yes," Ryou said. "Uh, Hazel, would you like to…?"

She jumped a bit, as though sensing everyone's eyes training on her, and her cheeks flushed bright red. "N-no… no, Ryou, would you mind?" she mumbled, looking down at her feet.

Ryou cracked a half-smile. "Not at all, not at all," he said. "This," he continued, "is Hazel Kiran-san. She contains the genes of the Prezwalski's Wild Horse, an extremely rare type of horse. We… well, we haven't seen her transform yet, so that's really all I can tell you."

Another silence rolled in, this one even more awkward, as everyone stared at each other, their feet, or the ceiling… or perhaps all three. No one seemed to want to talk, but finally Keiichiro, speaking up for once, gestured across the room and said, "Well, now that that's out of the way, why don't we just kind of…"

"…mingle?" Ryou suggested. Keiichiro nodded.

There was a split second of silence, and then, all at once, Noxar and Pai strode over to Ryou and Keiichiro. Gure, trying to look suave, strode over to Zakuro, and, seeing this, Kishata huffily stalked over to Mint, Lettuce, and Berry. Blane looked around, shrugged, and then followed her. And a certain orange blur raced across the room to glomp Taruto.

_Okay, Kisshu, _he thought. _You can do this. _

Taking a deep breath, he smiled slightly and paced over to Ichigo and Hazel. As he neared them, the auburn-haired horse Mew flushed and looked down. He felt his own cheeks flash slightly as he allowed a slow smile to slide across his face. Halting, he said, "Hello, Ichigo. And, er… Hazel, wasn't it?" He remembered her name, of course, but he wasn't about to make her think he was paying close attention to her or something. Something told him she'd faint if he showed any interest in her, and _that _would put a dent in relations with the Mew team.

Ichigo looked a bit surprised at his offhand greeting. _Guess she didn't expect me to be so calm, eh? _he thought. Her voice was a bit suspicious as she replied, "Hello, Kisshu."

"How're things?" he queried. "How's your tree-hugger?"

Rolling her eyes, she shoved him. "Oh, shut up!"

Now grinning ear to ear, he shoved back, glad that they could, apparently, have friendship, even if she didn't love him.

He turned to face Hazel. Her bronze-red hair glinted slightly in the dim light, and her soft caramel eyes were still stretched wide as he examined them.

"Hey," he said easily, extending his hand in greeting. "I'm Kisshu." He smiled gently, watching with interest as she hesitated, but finally took his hand.

"H-h-hello, Kisshu," she replied, her voice soft and sweet. And nervous. But he was going to ignore that for the time being.

His heart thumped. What was this? She said two words to him, and he already felt this? It couldn't be.

He became aware that he was still staring into her eyes. Flushing slightly, he looked down. Ichigo was glancing rapidly between the two.Kisshu, in his little daze, didn't notice that Hazel, too, had been staring wide-eyed, and was now blushing furiously and looking in the other direction. A slow, crafty smile slid onto Ichigo's face, and her eyes glinted mischievously.

"So," she said. "Hazel-chan, Kisshu-kun. You guys stay here for a second. I'm gonna go talk to Mint, okay?" She skipped off, leaving the pair behind in an extremely awkward silence. Kisshu watched curiously as she flitted over to the bird Mew, standing on tiptoe to whisper quickly into her friend's ear. Mint whipped her head around and gasped, her eyes shining, and Ichigo nodded seriously, then the pair giggled and darted away. They conversed briefly with Ryou, and then raced out of the room, upstairs, it seemed.

Kisshu raised an eyebrow questioningly and turned back to the equally confused Hazel. "I take it you haven't the slightest idea what that was about either, then?" She shook her head, laughing softly. It took every ounce of his meager self-control not to reach out and stroke her hair as it flipped around when she shook her head. _Must. Not. Be. A. Pervert._

Suddenly Ichigo and Mint were separating them. Ichigo faced Hazel, saying something he couldn't make out, and the bird-girl slowly turned around to wink at him, eyes knowing. He raised an eyebrow. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew what they were up to.

Ichigo now backed up a bit and turned to Kisshu. "Hazel's going to transform upstairs. It's her first time! Come on, you're coming too." She grabbed his arm, dragging him along before he could protest. Mint pulled Hazel along in a similar manner, and soon they were upstairs, in the now-empty café.

Ichigo let go of Kisshu and bounded over to Hazel. "Okay, this is how it works." She tossed the redhead a round golden pendant. "That's a power pendant. You touch it, yell, 'MEW MEW HAZEL! METAMORPHO-SIS!', and you'll get in this little bubble of light and transform. The sequence is different for everyone, so I honestly can't tell you what to expect. Here, I'll demonstrate."

"MEW MEW STRAWBERRY! METAMORPHOOOO-SIS!"

A pink light enveloped her, and an occasional sound, such as the tinkle of a bell or the slightest hint of music, reached the ears of the three still waiting silently. Then the rose glow slowly receded, and Ichigo appeared in her familiar Mew outfit: strawberry dress, boots, gloves, bubblegum-pink hair and eyes, soft black ears, and a long, waving black cat's tail with a red bow and a bell at the end.

She grinned at Hazel, ears twitching. "Your turn!"

The other girl looked at her, nervous. "O-okay. I'll try," she said, taking a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut, and stepping into the center of the room.

"MEW MEW HAZEL! M-METAMORPHOOO-SIS!"

A light brown orb encased her, and the faintest trickle of some upbeat, tinkling music leaked from the ball of light. It took a full thirty seconds, but finally the brown light faded to reveal…

She wore a bronze miniskirt and short, cropped halter top that exposed her pale stomach; the halter ties met at the top hem of the shirt in a perfectly round orb of amber, and were tied in a big bow at the back of her neck. Her feet were encased in tawny ballet slipper-like shoes that were tied with amber ribbons, and her hands were covered by matching tawny fingerless gloves, which reached up to her elbows. Her hair and eyes were now the color of warm cinnamon, her bangs clipped back with more amber, smooth and polished, and the customary Mew garter, choker, and armbands were in their correct positions. On her forehead, above and slightly to the left of her left eye, her Mew mark was revealed: four rounded amber triangles, with two interlocking 'u' shapes in the middle. Finally, to complete it, two long, triangular brown ears, darker and muddier than the rest of her bronze tones, poked up on either side of her head, and a long, silky black horse tail poked from the back of her skirt.

He stared. She stared back. Mint stifled a giggle.

She slowly turned in a circle, stopping to face Ichigo. "Well? How do I look?" she queried, laughing softly.

The pink Mew smiled. "Gorgeous! What'dyou think, Mint? Kisshu?"

Mint flashed her teeth and nodded. "Very pretty, Hazel-chan."

Kisshu nearly choked as he walked up behind her. That smell- it was so different from the other Mews' fruity scents: it was warmer, aromatic, not as clean. It smelled like… nuts? _Oh, yeah. I guess… isn't there a nut like that? Hazel… hazelnut?_

Mint nudged him. "Well, Kisshu?"

He smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes. "I think she looks very nice." He pretended not to notice the raging blush that spread across her cheeks as he said that- even he wasn't as mean as to call her out on that.

He was determined. He would do it this time- this would not be a repeat of the past. Maybe this time around he could drop the obsession and maybe even fall in love with the pretty girl like a normal person. Maybe. Well, perhaps that was a little clichéd, but hey, a boy can dream, right?

He smiled.

Well? How did you all like it? ^.^ More fluff, haha. Not as long, this time- but then, I actually cut a lot of stuff out from the original draft. I wrote some _really_ Mary Sue-ish "love at first sight" stuff, so that had to go. Overall, though, I really like this chapter.

Kisshu: -hits- Why did she blush so much?

Dawnstep: Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai, Kisshu-kun, but I can't tell you yet! Figure it out on your own, hmm? :D

…yeah. I may or may not do a ref sheet for Mew-ified Hazel pretty soon, and if I do I'll put it in the next chapter's AN. That's about all. Oh, wait- as an incentive to get people to review- _heh heh heh _–evillaugh—I'm going to 'casually mention' how some reviewers (mostly those who asked questions) got little itty-bitty chunks of future plot as a reply. So…. Incentive! Muah-ha-ha-ha. I'm mean. Anyway, see you all next time! –waves-


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